Google Video censors Iraq footage - for US only

Censorship comes home?

Updated Google's video service appears to be blocking US viewers from seeing an innocuous piece of Iraq footage that Google delivers to internet users in the rest of the world without any problems.

The footage shows US military personnel detonating a roadside bomb in a controlled explosion. It's accessible from everywhere except the United States. But US citizens - who bear the human and financial cost of such improvised weapons - are presented with this message:

[Click to enlarge]

Alas it's not Google that's doing the censoring - and a big red-faced Oops from The Reg. Google explained last week that uploaders had made the decision not to make the clip available to US internet users.

One Reg reader described the footage as "very boring". We describe some tastier ones here. ®